A Colombian died in Ukraine in the midst of the war with Russia. Luis Javier Cardona Isazaa native of Pereira, joined other mercenaries who have traveled to Eastern Europe and lost their lives.
According to the criteria of
As of June 2024, The war in Ukraine that began in February 2022 has left 11,824 civilians deadaccording to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The figures for dead soldiers are not clear. For August 2023, US estimates, known to the newspaper, The New York Timesindicated that around 120,000 Russian soldiers and 70,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed.
Colombian issued a warning before dying in Ukraine
The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine regretted the departure of the Pereira native.Our dear Colombian brother Luis Javier Cardona Isaza, who had been serving in Ukraine as a volunteer, succumbed on the battlefield“he said in an obituary.
Russian authorities said he died in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia in fighting with their soldiers.
In fact, the Russian Embassy in South Africa broadcast a message that Cardona had left in a video. “He warns those who are considering traveling to the conflict zone that they must be fully aware of the risks and sacrifices that being in an active war entails,” he said on his official account on the X network.
In the mentioned audiovisual, The Colombian made a reflection to those who plan to be mercenaries.
“Remember, those of you who are thinking of coming here to Ukraine, know and understand that you are coming here for a war. You are not here for a walk.“, he said.
Although he said the payment amounted to 19 million pesos, he acknowledged that lives were being put at risk: “Many have the chance to return home, others are not so lucky.”
“Before making this decision, think about it very carefully because once you are here it is not very feasible to return because you were scared or could not bear it,” he said.
#LISTEN. Recommendations from a Colombian mercenary who provides military services to the Ukrainian Army. “You are coming to war. You are not just passing by,” are the young man’s words for those who are thinking of enlisting in the conflict against Russia.
GIVE YOUR OPINION. pic.twitter.com/Fk1GU2WpS1
— Dark Colombia (@ColombiaOscura) July 4, 2024
His words are similar to those of Diego Andrés Vargas, a native of Santander, who in another video gave advice“Don’t come here out of necessity, or because you like it. You will find death here. (…) Here your bodies are left dumped in the trenches and they are not even recovered.”
This would be a message from a Colombian soldier who wants to get out of the war between Ukraine and Russia… He says that he has had to live through martyrdom in an unequal war and asks other uniformed personnel not to serve in that place even out of necessity. pic.twitter.com/9fAgOKL8h8
— Mely Múnera (@MelyMunera) July 6, 2024
In June 2024, Roy Barreras, Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, revealed that an estimated 51 “Colombian dead have fled to Ukraine as mercenaries.”
“This is a tragedy and a terrible decision because it is very regrettable that someone decides to hire themselves out to kill for money in someone else’s war. The profession of mercenary is miserable and is a death trap,” he said in an interview with EL TIEMPO. “What they are paid is not even enough to repatriate their bodies. So they are using them as cannon fodder.”
In July alone, the obituary of the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine announced, in addition to Cardona’s death, the deaths of the following Colombians:
- Ricael Bejarano
- Jorge Luis Perdomo Fierro
- Jose William Luna Campera
- Eduardo Garcia Carvajal
- Alexandro Antonio Padilla.
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